5 Important Truths About The Tongue - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Good morning. I know we just prayed, but if we can just bow our hearts again before the Lord as we open up his word and ask for his help this morning. Father, we thank you for the grace and the opportunity to be in your house. Lord, we may have entered in many different ways, but in this moment, we pause to reflect on what we are about to experience. We pray, Lord, that you would give us the humility and the strength to receive your word.

We pray that there would be clarity, freedom from confusion, conviction where it is needed, comfort where it is needed. We pray that your word would be assisted in the power of the Holy Spirit, and that it would be driven into our hearts, Lord. Help us see your wisdom and your love and your holiness. And Lord, may we be conformed to the image that you have planned for us to be conformed to, your son, Jesus Christ. Lord, we admit our weakness this morning.

Oh, God, do we know it? Do we know it, Lord? And we know that every challenge, every strong word, behind it is your promise to empower us. So we trust in that this morning, today. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. If you're a student of the Old Testament, you've probably wondered why so much attention in the Bible is given to a structure called the tabernacle. I mean, it's not just one or two chapters. We're talking about many chapters. Some would say in the totality of the Bible, you have 50 chapters dedicated to this structure called the tabernacle, the place of worship for the Israelites.

And if you're an honest reader, perhaps you've read chapter after chapter after chapter wondering to yourself, could not have God given us some other insight about himself? Maybe about this world, maybe about the universe, maybe about how things were created, maybe about my life. Why so much attention? And it's a good question, and there are many reasons for the records concerning this place of worship. And one thing that we do learn, as we all know in our Friday night bible study, is that every portion of the bible teaches us something about who God is.

That is certainly true about the tabernacle. See, the important thing about that tabernacle is that Moses did not have the freedom to display it or to build it the way he wanted to. Every instruction was given by God from heaven. Every detail, every measurement, every material, every piece of furniture, every color, Everything was determined by the Lord, and he gave man no liberty to do it as he wished. He left no room for freedom.

You say why? Because God is greatly concerned about the details of the structure that would have represented his beauty, his holiness, and his glory. And man has no right to put their fingerprint on defining who God is. That very structure would host the presence of God. That very thing would would be able to show people to some measure the glories of God.

And so it was God's house on the earth, and therefore, it was God's rules about how it would be shown. You say, that's great. I understand that, but how does that relate to me today? Well, this is how it relates to us today. God is just as concerned about his current house.

And what is his current home? Is it this church building? No. The scripture testifies that you and I are the temple of God. In the new covenant, you and I now host the presence of God.

And not just host the presence of God by being sealed of the Holy Spirit, we also display something of his majesty, beauty, glory, wisdom, love, and every other fruit of the Holy Spirit. And so when you read about the tabernacle, you can zoom out and look at the overarching purpose or at least application to such a thing, and this is what it is. God is greatly concerned about the details of the very thing that hosts him and represents him. That includes you. That includes me.

From head to toe, God wants every part of who we are to be conformed to the image of his son. And we see that in the New Testament very clearly. In fact, so detailed is God that he dedicates a specific portion of the Bible to one specific part of who you are as a human. And it may not seem significant to us, it may not seem important to us, but it is greatly important to the God who now lives in us, and it is about something tucked in your mouth called the tongue. The tongue.

God uses a man by the name of James to give us great insight about the tongue, the portion of his house that he longs to be sanctified for his purpose and for his name. If you have your Bibles this morning, let's go to James chapter three. With these verses in James chapter three, what you and I are gonna discover is at least five amazing truths about the Christian tongue or about the tongue in general, not necessarily the Christian tongue. And this is our prayer this morning. God, if I host you, if I am your home, if I am the address for your glory on this earth, then transform me in this aspect, in this matter.

And what makes the book of James so attractive to Christians? Do you know why it is? I mean, you can ask a 100 Christians what their favorite book is in the New Testament, even the whole Bible, and you have a lot of Christians say the book of James. And I think one of the reasons why the book of James is so drawn to by believers is because it's intensely practical. And what it is, it's really the the book of Proverbs of the New Testament.

And so what you have is, in fact, if you look carefully, a lot of reflection about truths in Proverbs found in James in all matters of life, especially when it comes to speech. And we're gonna discover that to some portion this morning. Let's talk about what God has insights about concerning the tongue. And we start in verse one, and here's the first point. Number one, the tongue of the teacher will be held more accountable.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. Interestingly enough, when it comes to insights and instructions about the tongue, the first thing that the Holy Spirit wants to grant us is instructions about teachers. You know, know, it's very possible that when James was writing to his audience, his audience generally were very attracted to the role of a teacher and a preacher of God's word, and that is a wonderful thing to desire. But what James is doing by the wisdom of the spirit is offering caution before any man pursues this type of vocation. And so what he does is he provides a simple warning.

Listen. This thing isn't a light thing. And if you wanna pursue this, know this, that the tongue who teaches authoritatively over other people concerning God's word will be held in greater, stricter judgment before God. James does not exclude himself in that warning. Look at your bibles.

What does it say? For you know that we who teach, not just you, we. He includes himself. James is writing, James was teaching under that kind of a revelation, I know this as I'm writing to you, that I will also be judged with greater strictness. We who teach.

And James is concerned about believers that feel magnetized towards the honor and the glory and the awesome responsibility of what's happening in this moment. And it's one thing to teach a subject in a classroom to help somebody in their future career. It's a whole another level of gravity, when what you teach represents the God of the universe and determines people's eternal destination. It's one thing to teach in order to grant somebody the the chance to pass or fail in a class. It's a whole another thing that the substance of your message deals with life and death in the now and in the life to come.

This is no joke. This is not a small thing. This is not where you can come and wax eloquence and impress people and just like to hear yourself talk. This is way more serious, believers. And this is important for those who think that they can just do this on any level, whether it's a pastor or bible, group teacher, whatever it may be, and think that the tongue can operate as it wills, as it desires.

Oh, no. James wants to make it clear just in case there's anybody in the congregation that feels an itch to want to teach in life. So what does he say? Well, more importantly, what will that teacher be judged by? Jesus made it clear.

Every single believer will be held accountable for every careless word that they've spoke. Think about that for a second. But there will be a separate category of people at the judgment seat of Christ that will be called upon because their tongues on the earth have been stamped with teacher of God's word. And when God calls them and holds them accountable for how they have taught God's word, surely there are many things that will come under scrutiny, but here's at least two. Number one, did this tongue did this tongue proclaim every aspect of God's word?

Did this tongue proclaim every aspect of God's word? So a person who is drawn to teaching God's word, you know what he has to do, spend his life doing? Teaching God's word. There is a famine of the word of the Lord today. There are many today who assume the place of teacher and preacher, but the substance of their message is not very much the word of God.

It can be much of everything else with Jesus as a footnote, but it's not the word of God. And what God will call to accountability is any preacher or teacher that comes to a place where they do not come to the word and deliver the scriptures week after week after week. You know what God told Jeremiah? Jeremiah, let him who has a dream tell of his dream, but let him who has my word preach it faithfully. What's amazing is that if you're people pulling out from different personal experiences or even political events or what's on the news, and that becomes the the source of sustenance for the church.

And what a teacher is called to do is spend his life mining the word of God, discovering truths from the Old and New Testament, only to bring it before the people with a tongue that will declare the glories of God and bless those in their spiritual walk in Christ. He is to be a master of the word. He is to be a companion of the word. He used to know from cover to cover and spend his life endeavoring to know the truths found therein. I love what Jesus says to his own disciples when he was training them for this task.

In Matthew 13, Matthew 13, most of it is dedicated to parables about the kingdom of God. And when he comes near the end of his parables about the kingdom of God, he looks at his own disciples and he says in verse 51 of Matthew 13, have you understand all these things? Have you understood all these things? I love Jesus as a teacher. He wasn't concerned about impressing you with his speech.

In fact, read Jesus' sermons. They're very simple, and they're very direct to the point. Being judged as a teacher is not about how eloquent or how impressive you were with your words. Jesus looks at his own disciples and says, did you understand what I just said about the kingdom? He wants you to know.

He wants to dissect it. He wants to make sure that you don't walk out of here more confused than when you walked in, but impressed because the guy sounded really smart. Have you understood these things? And then he goes on to say after they said yes in verse 52, and he said to them, therefore, every scribe scribe is synonymous with teacher. Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.

You know what he's saying? He's saying, because you have now been enlightened concerning the kingdom and any aspect of who I am, now you are responsible of dishing it out to others. And if you were trained for the kingdom as a scribe, you are like one who hosts people, and when they come over, you continually bring out treasures to display and for them to enjoy. You are a chef, so to speak, bringing out a feast continually for your people to be fed and nourished from the old and from the new. What an incredible task.

A preacher cannot be a lazy man, especially with the word of God. He spends his life discovering truths and with the ambition as he discovers truths to say, oh, I can't wait to tell the people how glorious God is, how wise he is. And it's amazing that when he discovers these truths, his tongue must not only be faithful in declaring the substance of the word of God, but every aspect of it. Because there are people that are very well learned, but they are also skilled in not proclaiming things that will not fulfill their selfish ambition or motives. Paul, another teacher.

Paul, a teacher, preacher, understood the gravity and the responsibility of being a herald of God's word. He actually looked at his fellow elders in the book of Acts, the church of Ephesus, and he said this, Acts twenty twenty six to 27. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Have every preacher have that kind of mentality in the pulpits of America, and we will see revival very soon. He goes, I am innocent.

My conscience is clear that your blood is not on my hands because I came to the word, and I didn't consider necessarily how you would feel about a truth when I delivered it in love. Every portion of the Bible was given to you and not withheld for your good and for the glory of God. So when I come before God, there will be no stains on my hands. Secondly, I believe that the judgment seat according to the scriptures, when a preacher will come before the lord of glory, it will not just be that the teacher preach the full message. It will be that the teacher's life match the message.

Listen. There is no greater threat to the authenticity and the authority of a preacher's message than his own life. There is much malnourishment in the body of Christ because of a lack of sufficient teaching, but let me tell you this. There is also much bitterness in the souls of Christians because of knowledgeable teachers that do not have spirit defined character. Both are just as deadly.

And what we have to understand is that perhaps James was concerned about all these Christians in his audience that wanted to become preachers and teachers and conference speakers, and perhaps he had insight that their life didn't match the weightiness and the responsibility and the call and the standard of the Bible. That's not explicitly clear, but we can know from the Bible in the totality that it is certainly the concern of the Holy Spirit. Paul told a young pastor, Timothy, hey, pastor Tim. Watch your life and your doctrine closely. In the ESV, keep a close watch on yourself and the teaching.

Because if you do that, you'll save both yourself and those who hear you. Because if you just focus on your life with no substance, that's dangerous. If you focus on the substance and don't have the character, that's just as dangerous. And so you know what a preacher is supposed to do? He's supposed to study himself just as much as the word of God.

He is supposed to examine his life, and he's supposed to continually come before God in the presence of God, not just before the book, but with an open heart, with his face before God to say, oh, God, is there anything in my life that might cause people to question or doubt the beauty and the power of your word? Because they hear it from my mouth, but when they watch my life, they don't see it lived out. God almighty, I study myself and I ask that you search my heart and see if there be any wicked way in me, lest I taint the possibility of people receiving it because it's coming from a vessel that is not faithful. Doctrine is important, but demonstration. Doctrine is important, but demonstration can be the force that drives that doctrine into the hearts of people who see it lived out from the proclaimer.

Because what happens when a person lives what he preaches is that the people come up after a Sunday morning, they walk out and they go, I see it lived in him. Therefore, I know it's possible for me. You might be hearing these things this morning, and you thought, I did not come to a pastor's conference. Why are you preaching to me as though I am a preacher? Well, again, James is not finished with his teaching on the tongue, and James is just giving out a warning, just in case, if there's anybody in the congregation that feels an itch to preach and does not know that the path that they are treading on is an honorable one for sure, but it is dangerous in a holy way.

And so he goes on to move on when he says in verse two, for we all stumble. There you are. You're not a preacher. You're not a pastor, but here we are. For we all stumble in many ways, including pastors and teachers, by the way.

They're human. They're not angels. They're not seraphim and cherubim. They're humans. We all stumble in many ways.

And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his old body. And now notice that he also says we in this. He says we with teachers, and he also says we. Didn't say you always stumble in many ways. We, including James, we all stumble in many ways.

But this is the point that he's driving. He's not trying to excuse stumbling, and stumbling means moments in life that create hindrances or you tripping in a manner that slows your advancement in holiness. He's not excusing that. Oh, we all stumble in many ways. He's making a point for we all stumble in many ways.

Right? Amen. But then he goes on to say that if a person doesn't stumble in what he says, he's perfect. Think about the significance of what he's saying. You can stumble in many ways, but if you find yourself able to not stumble in your speech, You're perfect.

Perfect in what sense? Completely sinless or immaculate with your morality? No. The sense of perfection that he is speaking of here is a spiritual maturity, a strength. There is a sense of testimony, of godliness that is greatly connected to this, your tongue.

So this is the second point. The first point is the tongue that teaches will be held more accountable before God. And here's number two. The tongue is a measure of spiritual maturity. The tongue is a measure of spiritual maturity.

You know what that means? That a mark of a spiritual man or woman has identified the manner of his or her words. Notice I said a mark, not the only mark, a mark of a spiritual person, and I hope that you desire to be spiritual. It is identified by others, by the string of words, a habit of speech that comes and flows out of that vessel. And you know that one way that you are growing in Christ likeness is that you have a greater sense of the strength and control of your tongue.

And if you, throughout the years, feel like there is no growth or strength in that area, you can know one thing, you are being hindered in the fullness of maturity in the spirit, and that affects your testimony and your experience of who God is. We all stumble in many ways, but if a person knows how to not stumble in his speech, oh, you are that much higher in your spiritual stature. How does a how does a person stumble in his speech? What does that look like? It looks like boasting or trumpeting in yourself.

It looks like hurtful language driven by emotion. It looks like profane language that reflects the way the world expresses itself. You'd be amazed to know how many Christians are trying to defend that aspect in their life. It looks like honest words that are delivered in a rude or disrespectful tone. You know you can say the right thing in the wrong way.

Right? And people walk away and think, well, I said the right thing, but you delivered in a package that stinks. The slander of someone else's reputation. Man, that tongue can murder people's reputations. Murder.

Finding pleasure in tearing other people down by speaking behind their back. Comments that would embarrass somebody publicly unnecessarily, or comments that would what? Bring a person to shame and make them seem insignificant. And the list can go on and on and on. All you need to do is go to the Bible and see what kind of speech is defined by the spirit led.

Here's the point. These things just mentioned become less and less recognizable as you grow more and more in Jesus. And James is not even finished with that point. I mean, you think he's finished to say that's the point. No.

He goes on to say and elaborate why control of speech is so significant to personal holiness. Look what he says in verse two. He's a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. Wow. You know what he's saying?

He gives illustration just in case we don't know. He gives us two illustrations. The one is a horse, and the other one is a ship. And he talks about that majestic beast, the horse. And he says, do you know how men control horses?

They put a bit in their mouth. And all they have to do is put that instrument in their mouth, and the owner can direct that horse wherever he pleases. And then he speaks about that instrument, that vehicle in the ocean that is also majestic, that crashes and drives through the raging seas. And yet he goes on to say, but that ship that takes your breath away when you're on the dock and you see it pass by, that ship is actually controlled by a small rudder that's steered by the pilot. And this is James's point, that if you are able to find a way by the grace of God to control your tongue, you will guarantee most likely the direction of your life.

And if you cannot find the grace or you do not see the seriousness of what happens if your tongue is let loose, you know what will happen? You'll be just like a wild horse, or you'll just be as dangerous as a ship without a rudder. Tossed to and fro by wind. Tossed to and fro by your appetites, like a horse, without control. And so this is his point, if you can get this, you can get this.

And all you have to do is read the Bible to see that James is not speaking from mere opinion. Yes, inspired by the Holy Spirit, but also echoing what the Bible says from cover to cover. I want you to hear these Proverbs. It's quite amazing. I'm just gonna read them to you.

You can jot them down if you'd like. Proverbs seventeen nine. Whoever covers an offense seeks love. Whoever covers an offense, you offended me, but I cover it with love. It's done.

It's over. I forgive you. Let's move on. Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. When you keep bringing it up, how do you do that with this?

When you keep bringing up the past, when you keep bringing up the past, what you end up doing is ripping relationships apart. Proverbs eighteen six, a fool's lips walk into a fight. His mouth invites a beating. How do you think fights start? I can tell you the ratio from looks to speech, speech is much higher.

Dirty looks only go so far because when you give a dirty look, oftentimes, what do the unsaved do? What are you looking at? Wanna go? And then speech follows. Speech follows.

So what happens with a fool? Well, his mouth invites his own beating. Proverbs twenty one twenty three, whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Most of our trouble comes from our tongue, by the way. And in our day, it's not just our tongue because our tongue now has an extension.

It's your phone. It's your keyboard. It's your laptop. It's your Twitter. It's your Instagram.

So let me just go here. You've know this verse in James one nineteen. Know this, my beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. More attention and energy to hearing before you speak. You can modernize it.

Know this, my beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to tweet, slow to post, slow to Instagram, slow to email, slow to text. Because what are you invited to do every time you go on Facebook? What's on your mind? And people think that Facebook becomes a journal, and that's what people do. Here's my mind.

Let me just say what I wanna say that's on my thoughts today. It's literally an invitation not to filter what you're supposed to filter. Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Proverbs twenty nine twenty. You know what's amazing about this?

You come near the book, the end of the book of Proverbs in Proverbs twenty nine twenty, and there's much talk about wise men and fools. And look at this. I mean, you you you read about the fool, and you feel bad for the fool. You think, what a way of life to be a fool. And then look what the Proverbs say.

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Now think about that. You take the time to go to the book of Proverbs and write all the things that describe a fool and the plight, the direction, and the destruction of his life. And then all of a sudden, when you come near the end of the book, we are told if a person is rushing with his words, doesn't calculate that, says whatever's on their mind, that who who fool has more hope than that man.

Think about that. So this is not a light thing. It's not about, well, it's my personality. Get your personality in check by the Holy Spirit. This is a matter about how you experience life, how you experience relationships, how you experience opportunities, how you experience influence, how you experience your reputation for Christ.

It comes down to that. James says, if you know how to bridle this, you have control of your whole body. Because if this is not in check, then this will not be in check. Your feet will go in a certain direction. Your eyes will go in a certain direction.

Your finances will go in a certain direction. It affects so much. That little muscle tucked between your lips, yeah, that, affects so much. Here's the third point. The tongue can be the cause of great outcomes.

We just talked about how the tongue is a sign of spiritual maturity, and continuing from that point, the tongue is the cause of great outcomes. Let me tell you this, friendship of families have been ripped apart because of the tongue. How many family members are not talking to each other because they heard of so and so that spoke against so and so, and they didn't do this, and they said that, and now you can't even look each other in the face. It's been years. Adultery?

Yeah. It probably started with a look, but it was fueled by persuasiveness and speech. Churches? Confusion in the congregation and even splits because of whispers, spreading rumors and saying things that they should not ought to. That is the next point explained by James.

Look at verse five. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. Translation, the tongue is responsible for enormous outcomes. That little thing can tell you story after story throughout history of what it did, what it triggered, what it brought birth to. Think about the incredible power of human speech.

Think about the movements that have been started. Think about the wars that have been started. Think about the inspiration, giving people another reason to live, but also the destruction, giving another reason for a person to end their life. And so many things have been triggered by this small muscle, and the imagery that James paints here is very dark and frightening. Just listen to this.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness, a tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. Talk about a man who believes that he was gonna be judged for being a teacher. He did not hold back. This thing has set people's lives on fire, and that thing that set so many fires will be set on fire in judgment by God.

And I want you to think about how one little stick, a match that's lit, and you can hold between your two fingers, what that thing can do to acres and acres of land. And that's what he's saying. And so by the same token, what can one sentence do? I can guarantee you that many things have been burned to the ground because of a few words. Just light it up, let it burn.

And so what we can understand is that the severity of the tongue is no light matter, but here's the thing, it's not just the dangers that can come, it's the immense blessing that can come. The immense blessing that can come. And the Bible gives us both examples of how a tongue can destroy or a tongue can bring life. And I can't help but think about King David's life. That's where my heart was drawn to in reading this text.

Because that man, though he was a man of God, was not a man that was void of the experiences of of what we're talking about here. I challenge you to read the book of Psalms and see how much of David's pain and suffering and affliction wasn't necessarily of those that were trying to kill him, though that is true, but read closely and you'll see that it's mostly about people using their words against him. Read the book of Psalms and see how much pain came to David because of what people were whispering and saying, including threats. You'll realize that his main issue throughout his life was really the words of others. That was certainly true at one point in his life when David was king, and he was ruling, but he had a son named Absalom.

And Absalom was driven with such hatred and sin in his heart that he actually created a division in the kingdom, and he went to war with his own father only to be killed. And then David so grieved by his son's death, wanting to also kill the man who killed his son for wanting to kill him. Talk about confusion. Talk about frustration. And reflecting on that, you think, well, where did it all start?

How did David have a civil war with his own flesh and blood? This is how. You go to the book of second Samuel 15, and I want you to see where it all started. Absalom would wake up every single day with his little entourage, and they would go to the gates in verse one and two, and they would talk to the people that were coming in under David's administration to receive judgment. And then we read here in verse three what he would say after saying, hey, hey, fellow Israelite, where are you from?

They would say, I'm from such and such a place. And then Absalom would begin to do this as a pattern because he had a strategy in verse three. Absalom would say to him, see, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you. Then Absalom would say, oh, that I were judged in the land, and every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice. See what he's saying?

They would come with their issues, and he goes, oh, if only this administration was better. If only they had more resources. If only they had more men that would be able to deal with your cause. Doesn't just end there. Verse five.

And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take a hold of him and kiss him. And look at verse six. Thus, Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment, so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. What was Absalom's strategy with his words to create a sense of dissatisfaction in the hearts of the people, to give false accusation, and at the same time false promises, with the goal of him wanting to sit on the throne. Moment that the match was lit, and it was thrown into the forest, only to read from that point on of disaster upon disaster.

For a man's words. For a man's words, I was able to persuade the power of suggestion. King David was loved. Listen to how serious this is. King David had people singing his praises.

Saul has slain his thousands and David has tens of thousands. They love this man, and yet David's own son was able to persuade the crowd to come against them. Don't tell me this isn't powerful. Get the right man with the right looks, with the right charisma, and things can go wrong if he has an evil heart. That's exactly what happened.

And David felt the effects of it. David's men felt the effects of it, and all of Israel effect from what? From that. But you can also argue that David experienced the opposite. There are many things that David experienced in in a saving sense from the tongues of others.

And you think about Jonathan who fueled him with encouragement and strengthened him with his words. And I can't help but think of David's wife, one of them, that's not biblical. Abigail. When David was with his neck veins popping out ready to kill a man named Nabal because he treated him wrongly, and when Abigail finds and gets word that David is coming with his men to slaughter the house of Nabal, What does she do? She runs to him, falls at his feet, and begins to do what?

Persuade him. And speak words of wisdom and discretion over him to such a point where he serenaded him, and it brought him to a place of total reverse to to what he was about to do. And listen to what David says. You don't have to turn there. I want you to see how he describes this success.

In first Samuel 25 verse 34 to 35, in response to this woman of discretion. For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning, there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male. Then David received from her hand what she had brought to him, and he said to her, go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition. This igneous insignificant wife of a fool, unknown, comes to the king of Israel, anointed to be the king of Israel, and she persuades this man to turn directions.

And David even says, you saved me from taking matters into my own hands. And because of this woman, David gets to witness the Lord's deliverance because the Lord strikes Nabal with a stroke and kills him. Why do I bring up this example? Because as we learn about the tongue, do you know what the solution is not? Trying to be as mute as possible.

Like, if the tongue is really that much of it, I'm gonna try to practice and learn not to to say anything in public as much as I can. There is wisdom in not saying some things in some circumstances, but the strategy that God has in mind for your tongue and mine is not to remain as silent as possible so that we can be a mute people. Why? Because there's so much power and blessing and life that can come from a controlled tongue that is not fair nor is it God's will to just keep our mouth shut. We want to use this tongue, but for the glory of God.

That's the point of what James is saying. Not keep your mouth shut as much as you can. But by the Holy Spirit, let there be a bridle. Let there be hands on the steering wheel for the rudder, and let it be directed in a way that will bless rather than curse. And that's really the next point.

Number four, the tongue is untamable by human strength. Look at verse seven. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed, and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. What an observation that James is making.

Man has been able to conquer beasts, to train animals. You go to the zoo, you go to SeaWorld, and you see that. They're able to make these animals even do tricks to confine them, to keep them. And yet throughout history, though man has been capable of doing such great things, man has not figured out how to control this thing. And that's the point that he's trying to make.

That though human strength has been proven to show great things and great exploits and achievements, human strength has continually proven the failure of controlling speech. Human strength is not enough. Human strength will not do. For you to leave out of here thinking that I'm gonna do better in your own power is a recipe for disaster and great disappointment. And what James isn't doing is giving Christians a hopeless case.

No human can tame the tongue. He doesn't end there, and that's not the testimony of the Bible. Yes. No human can tame the tongue. You and I know what we were like before we were saved, and even after we were saved.

Can you testify this morning that you've been in settings where somehow something slipped out of your mouth, and because you're saved, conviction has stricken your heart and you said, how did that even happen? Where did that even come from? How did that nasty joke just slip out of my mouth? I'm embarrassed. I represent Christ.

How did somebody's honking in the other lane cutting me off cause me to say those words? Am I not spirit led? And you realize how much in our life can be controlled and how much of this tongue is almost uncontrollable. But that's the point. He's very specific with his words.

Human strength. Causing Christians in this day to realize in themselves they have no power to do this in their own, but to look up to the one who is and able. The one who created the tongue and the mouth can surely control it if we submit to him. That's the whole point of what James is saying. Put your tongue on the altar, day by day.

Give it to God. How many of us wake up every morning saying, Lord, fill my mouth with the power to speak what you want me to speak, to text what you want me to text, to post what you want me to post? Lord, I need you. Now if if we don't pray that in the new covenant, we're we're really, really, really out of touch with what's available to us, because there are men in the old covenant that don't have the access that you and I have, and they've prayed that many times. So here's David who says in Psalms one forty one verse three, set a guard, oh lord, over my mouth.

Set a guard, oh lord, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips. David's saying that in the old covenant. David in the old covenant realizes the power of the tongue, and David in the old covenant realized that God alone has the power to give the tongue a bridle, a bit, a steering wheel, a rudder. And what does that mean?

Set a set a door over my mouth, Set set a gate over my mouth. Set a guard over my mouth. Well, when there's a guard by a door, you can't enter into that place as easily. You're gonna be asked questions. You're gonna be investigated.

You are going to be analyzed before you slip into transition. Right? That's why people get guards, so they can guard what comes in and what comes out. And that's exactly what David is praying. Lord, I want the Holy Spirit to be a guard in my mouth, so that things do not come out as easily as they could apart from his presence and power.

You can pray that as much as you want. You can pray when you wake up. You pray it on your way to a meeting. You pray it on your way to a confrontation. You say it, and God will empower you to do it.

The tongue is untamable by human strength. And lastly, point number five, the tongue is able to be consistently a blessing. Look at verse nine. With it, we bless our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.

My brothers, these things ought not to be so. I don't know about you, but I can hear and feel James' frustration with the Christians. Maybe he's getting worried about something, but by him saying, my brothers, come on. This is translation, modern language. Come on, guys.

Like, we're Christians. We talk differently. We don't just go to church. We actually sound different. You you can't sing about the glories of God and use that tongue to sing his praises only to curse people with that same tongue and cuss them out.

Come on. We're believers. You can't talk about God's beauty and his creation as being created in the image of God only to gossip and mock and make fun of people. And then he goes on with the illustration. What does he say?

He he goes to nature again. Verse 11, does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Listen, when you go to a spring to quench your thirst, you don't go to scoop that water only to drink it and taste salt. Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives? When you go to get fruit from a tree, you don't expect to find salty vegetables.

You don't come to find something that you are not expecting. And in like manner, when a Christian steps into a place and somebody stands before him, what is that person expecting? Wholesome, sweet, pure, gracious, uplifting, life giving words. Not defaming, not gossiping, not slandering, not cussing, not whipping, not ugliness. Because if we do, we're gonna disappoint a lot of people because we bear the name of Christ.

The same way a person will be disappointed to go to a tree and expect a fruit and only to get a vegetable, or to come to a spring and expect ocean water and drink and say, this is not what I thought would come out of this. But here's what I love, because the implications of what James is saying is much more significant than we read on the surface level. He goes, my brothers, these things ought not to be so. You know what that means? If James is condemning this, then we have hope.

If that duality of speech is something that he condemns, then what that means is because we all know that's possible. We know it's possible to bless God and curse others. We know that. But that's not all that James is saying. If if he's condemning that, then there is something that's possible, and that's to have a lip, a tongue that continually blesses God and glorifies God.

For him to condemn it means that the the the former is a possibility continually, that you don't have to have a a forked tongue like a serpent. You can have a pure and holy tongue by the grace of God. And that's what he's trying to say. For him to say, these things ought not to be so means, brothers, it doesn't have to be so. It doesn't have to be so.

God can fill your mouth with his glory, and you can have a reputation and a growing reputation of a person who knows in any setting, whether in traffic, at home with your group of friends, on your social media, while being taunted as you are joking when in disagreement, your words and your reactions can flow like a stream that is wholesome and holy. It's possible. We're a spiritual people empowered by a God who is supernatural. And that is what James wants us to know, and that is what we need to put into practice. How important is such a word in a time like this where people don't hold back in lashing their words?

How important for a time like this when everybody wants to know everybody else's opinion on certain things? To have a tongue controlled by God. Listen, if the world is watching, it's always watching. It's surely watching on the way we express ourselves. You know what I love about the book of Daniel?

I love Daniel in chapter one as a young man when he was commanded to eat and drink that which he did not believe, according to the word, was appropriate to him. But I love how he comes before the king's servant and expresses his conviction, not just his conviction, but with such control and strategy and wisdom, and that same Daniel who convinced them not to eat and drink, that which would defile him, was the same Daniel soon after, who convinced the servant with his own words not to kill him because the king made an edict to kill all those who represented his office of interpretation. A man who knew how to control his words. And you and I living in a Babylon age need that same power. We need that same grace and that same prayer before God, not just because we're living in a time like this, but for all time in itself.

And so we close asking God, Psalms one forty one, set a guard, oh Lord, over my mouth, and keep watch over the door of my lips. Father, this morning, we realize that you are the God who cares about every detail of your house. We are your house. Lord, we hear a message that is quite simple and straightforward, but we examine our hearts to say, oh, God, I know I can't tame this on my own, but I wanna speak to my wife differently. I wanna speak to my children differently.

I wanna speak to my parents differently. I wanna speak to my fellow brother and sister differently, especially as I walk with them throughout this journey, and things can get frustrating at times. Give me grace. Give me your power. Let it not be said of me that he blesses God, but he curses men.

Lord, we look to you and we pray these things with a tainted tongue, we admit, but not in condemnation, but in hope that it doesn't have to be so. And, Lord, we pray that these same tongues that will sing your praises will go out into this world and represent you rightly. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.